Designing and updating the old designs of the tools and jigs I sell at our Etsy shop is a constant process that never ends. At every moment I have two or three new things in development, but I never forget about the older items.

That’s especially true because I regularly use my jigs and tools. At other times returning customers offer some insights into the possible changes/upgrades/new designs.

Shipping Prices Lowered

But first, there were some changes made to the shipping policy of our Etsy store. The result is quite simple: total prices (with shipping included) are a bit lower now. It became possible due to some optimization of both printing and shipping procedures.

Updates to the Desing of Smaller Corner Cutting Jigs

Our corner trimming tools are offered in a range of sizes from 1 mm and up to 7 mm (or about 1/4″). Recently I printed a jig that had 2,25 mm wall. However, I’d say that the precision of the sizes should be considered something like ±0,5 mm.

The problem with the smaller jigs is that they are quite brittle. Sometimes they break right at the corner.

Older version on the jig

Older version on the jig

I’ve been looking from some nice looking solution since the moment I first printed a 1 mm corner cutting tool. And recently I started shipping all of the sizes from 1,5 mm and below in one of the two following designs:

Updated inner corner reinforcement

Check that small bridge on the first tool. That’s all that is needed. But here is an even sturdier version:

We’ll see what would be the feedback from the customers. But it would be nice if you share your opinion in the comments section below.

Book Scanning Frame is Now Version 1.9

As there are many symmetrical elements in the book scanning frame, I printed some of the not in pairs, but successively. Tus, I was able to test them on the go and apply changes before printing the second part.

Some of the elements have passed only through 2 or 3 iterations. Some, like the camera arm, have been changed multiple times. I consider current modification of the scanning frame to be version 1.9. However, all the changes planned for the nearest future are mostly superficial, and/or aimed to lower production costs without affecting the usability.

Currently, it looks like this:

One of the changes that significantly improved the result is that these red holding corners now have positions for the glass to be set at angles from 85 degrees to 105 degrees. As it appears, even if the cradle is made to lay book at a 90-degree angle, a thicker book may open at a slightly different angle.

I also added all these small spacers and markers, to make the positioning of the book more comfortable and faster. That, in turn, allows you to spend less time post-processing the photos. When they all are made at the same angle and similar relative position of the smartphone and the book, you mainly need to edit the first image among the left pages, the first image among the right pages, and then propagate all the changes to all other photos in Lightroom or any similar editor that allows working with batches.

Laid and Woven Patterns for the Papermaking Moulds

When I started printing papermaking moulds with watermarks, initially I used patterns like triangles, six-pointed stars, etc. to form the surface of the mold. Then I was asked by a client to recreate the laid paper pattern. And a bit later the wove pattern.

With the wove pattern I am reaching the limits of the printing abilities of my equipment. That allows achieving quality of 32 openings per cm (80-mesh). For a higher price, however. Here are the prices:

Squares

Another recent addition to our shop are 3d-printed squares. Along with a multitude of different gauges, you may order us to print a machinist square (130x100x10 mm) or a flat square (200x150x2.5 mm).

Smaller Keys for Sewing Frames

The funny thing is that initially, I printed the keys 4 cm long. Then I looked at the competition and decided to make them larger. However, at fairs, my leftovers of smaller keys always attracted some attention. Now you can choose between 4 cm and 5 cm keys. Both options seem to be quite popular!

Here you may see both the top and bottom keys in two sizes:

Future Updates

At the moment I’m working on three major designs and several smaller ones. Two of the projects are related to the book scanning frame.

3d-printed sewing frame As I do not have my woodworking workshop anymore, I’d like to create a 3d-printed replica of a classic sewing frame. Hope I’ll be able to show the first versions by the beginning of this winter

A smaller version of the book scanning frame Current book scanning frame design is created to accommodate with page size up to A4 or similar (up to 25×35 cm). While that covers most of the scanning tasks, many of the possible users may not need to scan large books. What’s even more important, a smaller book scanning frame (for A5, or something like 18×25 cm) should be at least 25% cheaper.

Book scanning frame with lighting The major unresolved issue of the current design of the book scanning frame is lighting. While I’m pretty happy with my current setup, it definitely may be much better. I want to make updates to the existing structure that will allow including led light strips instead of using table lamps.

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Stepan is the owner and editor of iBookBinding.com since August 2015. He has been a bookbinder since 2006 and has taught hundreds of students since 2014. Recently Stepan spends more time crafting and 3d-printing bookbinding tools than making books.

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